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drugs. Since then, I’ve gotten to know that painful and chal- While I was at Bat Ami, I continued dealing with mental
lenging world. I discovered a world that was psychologically, health. I mentored families, I took part in discussions,
therapeutically, and medically deficient. After he became and I didn’t let up for a second. I also founded Emunatecha,
addicted, he also suffered from mental illness, and then I an organization that mentors families with multiple ill-
encountered a whole world of discrimination on the basis nesses, because those people don’t receive the treatment
of illness, stigma, and prejudice, both in the community they should and they get thrown around from one place to
and society, and even among professionals. Most of all, another and from one ministry to another like a hot potato.
I discovered a world full of pain and neglect, not only of
families and victims, but also of the system. You expect the
government to deal with these things, but then you discover THE KNESSET
that even the system suffers from a stigma. I think it’s an important place where we make decisions and
The case we had in our family was incredibly painful. If determine the character of the State of Israel. It’s not easy
they’d treated my cousin in time and taken care of him, if work. It’s not just how many times you were in the plenum
there hadn’t been a stigma and the boy had gotten treat- or the different committees, but all the work around the
ment, if there had been enough therapists and services clock that comes with the job.
available, he could have grown up while dealing with his
addiction and lived a good, meaningful life. Since it wasn’t A PUBLIC SERVANT
treated as it should have been early on, he disappeared from
our lives, and his illness grew worse and worse. Shabbat is an ingenious invention. I disconnect from every-
thing and focus on goodness. When I pray every morning,
I decided that helping others with addiction and mental
health struggles would be my mission in life. every day, I turn to G-d; I remind myself not to become
arrogant, and to remain true to my values. When I encoun-
ter complicated and difficult situations, it’s not simple or
GIVAT SHMUEL easy, but I deal with my frustration and disappointment by
keeping the larger public in mind and remembering that at
After I was asked to run, I was elected to the Givat Shmuel the end of the day, I’m just a shlichah (messenger).
city council. I held the city’s welfare portfolio, and I was As of now, I don’t regret choosing this path.
chairwoman of the Committee on Drugs and Alcohol for
five years. It was very meaningful work.
WHO IS MICHAL WALDIGER?

BAT AMI I love people. I’m self aware; I know my strengths and weak-
nesses and I am learning to come to terms with them. My
About five years ago, I was invited to serve as chairwoman creed is: “The work is not up to you to finish, yet you are
of Bat Ami (an organization that places religious Israeli not free to shirk it” (Pirkei Avot 2:21). We must work as if
young women in sherut leumi, Israel’s national volunteer everything depends upon us – but at the same time, we
service). I happily agreed, and I did it for four years with a must know that nothing depends on us, that we are ulti-
lot of love. The young men and women in sherut leumi are mately not in control.
Israel’s civic vanguard. They contribute a lot to the country,
and unfortunately they don’t get enough credit. There’s a
lot to do with sherut leumi, and I hope to make progress in  Originally published in Hebrew in Giluy Da’at, a weekly Israeli
that important area too. newspaper, October 22, 2021.

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